His Favorite Food
by snuggled
Summary: HinaChou fic that's not as sexual as the title makes it sound. Includes lots of fluff and food-loff on Chouji's part. Includes minor swears and gratuitous amounts of Japanese dishes. Pre-time skip, when Naruto's a bit of a pest. COMPLETE
1. Her Favorite Compliment

_I was inspired by Miss-Monster-Kimono's reviews to my **Fatass** fic, and I decided to write a HinaChou fic. If you're a major fan of Ino, prepare to be disappointed...because I don't make her look good at all. I'm sure she's fairly normal and all, but I think I may have over-exaggerated her character a bit. I'm trying to make up for it. Maybe in the next chapter... Hmmm... Then again, maybe not._

_I hope you all enjoy it. And I hope you all like the concept. Everyone knows the real way to a man's heart is through their stomach, and that goes doubly so for Chouji..._

* * *

**His Favorite Food  
**_Part One -- "Her Favorite Compliment"_

"Chouji, you idiot! What are you doing!?"

Chouji looked up from his chips, up at his very-blonde, very-pissed off teammate. "Snack break. All of this training wears me out…"

"Of course it does! That's why it's called training! Maybe if you weren't eating every ten minutes you'd have more energy to train longer! Ugh, why'd I get stuck with _you_!? I'll never beat Sakura and impress Sasuke with a team like this!!"

Shikamaru spoke up when he noticed Chouji's full face falling. "Maybe we'd get more done if you weren't stopping every ten minutes to check up on your hair."

She whirled around, her face clearly showing she was highly offended. "Never underestimate the importance of looking good while fighting! You never know when looks will win a battle–just look at that pervert Naruto!"

At the mere mention of that name, Hinata's ears twitched, and she drifted away from her team as they were passing by Asuma's favorite training grounds, going to go check out what was going on. What she walked in on was a heated argument rather than a discussion of her hero.

As she watched from the sidelines, her eyes gradually drifted toward the boy walking away from it all.

"Chouji needs to eat to replenish his chakra, Ino!"

"Yeah, well he eats a lot when he's just sitting around, too! He needs to start eating only when he absolutely needs to, damn it!"

"Why, so he can be tired enough all the time for you to yell at him more often? After all, if Chouji wasn't around, the only fat you'd be able to look at would be your own, turkey legs."

She screamed, unable to find anything else to counter that verbal wound, and Shikamaru took it as a win, regardless of what it _really_ was. On _their_ team, it could've been anything. He turned back to their portly partner–"Oi, Chouji…"–only to see a bag of chips in his best friend's place. "Chouji?"

Chouji sighed, walking over to a bench a few blocks away and having a seat. He was sure if Ino were there, she'd make a comment on making sure he didn't break the poor thing. His cheeks flared at the thought, and he looked down at his gut, sighing sadly.

Everyone in his clan was like this–they were all just big-boned, as his father had put it once. But…that still didn't stop people from treating him differently because of it. He could only wonder how his father got through childhood without wishing to just end it all.

"Ch-Chouji-kun…?"

A timid voice from his left caused him to turn, looking for the source. The source was none other than Hinata, one of the Hyuugas. Her father was way too strict and her sister was a little creepy…but she wasn't so bad. Just a bit too shy, was all.

He lifted his hand in greeting, forgetting to put that dull smile back on his face he'd perfected. "Hello, Hinata. Where's Kiba and Shino?"

She quivered a little, sitting down beside him. "Oh…they're t-training…"

"Oh…? Why aren't you with them?" Something in him stirred, and he could only wonder if she'd been dealing with the same sort of thing as him the entire time. After all, it couldn't just be a mere coincidence that she just so _happened_ to decide against training that day while her teammates went ahead.

She, stuttering, tried to find the best way to put it. _'Relax,'_ she whispered to herself mentally. _'This isn't Naruto; no need to panic, Hinata-chan…'_

She nodded her head, determined, before turning to him. "I…I wandered off to watch you three train."

His brows furrowed, and he watched her, perplexed. Naruto's team he'd expect, but his and Shikamaru's? "Why?"

She went red, her fingers pulling together and touching, index finger to index finger. "I-Ino said something about N-Naruto-kun…"

"Ah."

A silence formed, creeping in unexpectedly and lingering there like a tense cloud of smog, and between the two of them, Chouji was receiving only half of the awkwardness. Hinata's cheeks went pink. She wanted to comfort him somehow, say something to make him feel better and forget about what Ino had said, but she was herself, and she couldn't just come right out and say something out in the open like that! _'Think!'_ she thought. _'What would Naruto say in a situation like this??'_

"Ch-Chouji!"

Her sudden zeal caught him by surprise and he turned to her sharply, spooked. "Y-Yeah??"

"D-Don't… Don't listen to what Ino says! Y-You're just different than her and…and she's frustrated by it! What matters is that you try your best and don't get b-bummed out by what anyone tells you!"

By the time her pep talk was done, she was breathing a bit heavier than normal, looking at him with an intense, albeit fearful, look in her eyes, and her hands were clenched into fists at her chest.

A few moments passed until he couldn't hide the laughter threatening to bubble over any longer. He laughed a little, and Hinata turned inward again, her gaze returning to her hands. Her face flared and she felt completely ridiculous. That figured–her being outspoken was just so out of place…

Chouji's chuckles dwindled until he was looking at her again, simply smiling. "Hinata, you sounded just like Naruto."

She looked up, her eyes widening in surprise momentarily and her face turning bright red, until she looked back down again, smiling. "Th-Thank you…" Her voice was back to its normal tone, and Chouji suddenly realized just how cute she was.

His cheeks turned red, and he looked away, off toward where his friends were probably looking for him. "Well, I…I should…go…"

"O-Oh… Okay…"

"Bye, Hinata…"

"…B-Bye…"

She watched his figure disappear into the distance before she slapped her hands against her cheeks, rubbing furiously. "He–He said I… He said I sounded like Naruto-kun!!" It took everything in her to keep herself from fainting.

_Her_? As confident as _Naruto_-kun?? If she didn't know any better, he was just saying that to make her feel better after laughing like that!

* * *

_Wow. I just realized how short this was... The next chapter should be longer a bit... Sorry about that._


	2. Ramen and a Yakiniku Bento

_Ha ha ha ha. I'm glad to see a lot of people like this one. It's a bit of a change for something I did on a whim. To be honest, I'm more proud of _Fatass _than anything, but since it's under Shikamaru and Chouji and is only a friendship piece, it doesn't get a lot of publicity. What is wrong with yaoi, anyway? I mean, I like it as much as the next girl (I mean, just LOOK at_ Runner's High_. It has GHEY written all over it.), but that's ALL people read now! It's ridiculous! Well, here's to all the girls who read het-pairings, too (or only read het-pairings). I'm sure there's boys included, so this is to them, too. 9o9 I tend to forget some boys like this site._

_Ah yeah, and I feel I need to mention this. It's about what she makes Chouji. Yakiniku is pretty much meat with sauce on it or something, I dunno. I get all my Japanese dishes from _Fruits Basket._ So here we have Yakiniku, as mentioned in the "Sorta Cinderella" chapter, and in quite a few more with Hanajima in them. (Ha ha ha, that chapter was one of my faves. Hana was so perfect in it, as always.)_

_I'm sure you all know what a bento is (boxed lunch, naturally), so no worries. And of course __everyone knows what ramen is, right? Ha ha._

_Heh Heh. And I also bring up a topic that might just become a sequel to this, if I feel inclined and if I don't solve this sub-plot at the end of the story. If I do make a sequel, it's going to occur much in the same way as my Goth Kid fics (You know, from South Park. They're titled _Mr. Brightside _and _Pretty in Pink_ if anyone's interested. But I need to warn you, it __is about the Goth Kids, so I'm sure that's enough to tell you they're all annoying.)… Since those parenthesis were too long, I'll finish the method in this sentence--it'll have a conclusion in the final chapter and an Epilogue with the continuing plot line dangling at the end. And then, in the sequel, the very same Epilogue will become the Prologue for that, and the story will continue from there._

_However, I really don't know if I want to make it into a sequel, so we'll have to wait and see. The question is, would any of YOU like to see it happen? If that's the case, I might be able to end it in this story by way of summing up a sub-plot and won't have to go through the trouble of starting a new story. (I will tell you __this: I already started on the next chapter, and she's already become part of the subplot. So, it's all a matter of it working more as a sequel. But you'd all be a better judge at the end of Chapter Three, since it pretty much brings up everything that would be in the sequel if I were to make it into one._

* * *

**His Favorite Food  
**_Part Two -- "Ramen and a Yakiniku Bento"_

Early the next morning, Chouji met up with Shikamaru at their regular training grounds. Shikamaru took a spot underneath the trees and lay down, his hands behind his head. Chouji sat next to him, munching on a few chips he'd pulled from his newest bag.

"Sorry about what Ino said the other day, Chouji."

"It's alright. It's not your fault… Besides, I felt a little bit better after Hinata gave me a pep talk. She's sounding more like Naruto every day…"

Shikamaru shrugged, not really caring one way or the other. That was just him–stoic apathy. For a long while afterwards they just sat there, staring up at the sky. Chouji, munching on a handful of chips, looked over at Shikamaru, his cheeks turning bright red. He looked back at the sky, attempting to appear as nonchalant about the subject as his friend.

"Hey, H-Hinata's pretty cute, huh?"

Shikamaru just shrugged again, feeling his eyes grow heavy, as they always did. "Yeah, I guess. Women are pretty troublesome, though. Just take it from me, Chouji–chasing after women just leaves you heartbroken."

For a while Chouji accepted it, until it started to pick at him, like a festering scab turned on its victim. "You…speaking from experience?"

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched, and he looked away, embittered. "N-No. What makes you think _that_? I mean, it's not like I can help it if TenTen likes Lee for his fighting spirit and thinks I'm _boring_." He frowned, closing his eyes and sighing, his eyebrows returning to their normal, relaxed selves. "Not _exactly_, that is…"

Chouji sat there for a while, thinking. "Hmmm… D-Does it bother you?"

"Eh?" His friend opened an eye to look at him.

"Being rejected by TenTen."

Shikamaru burst out laughing. "You thought I'd _told_ her?? No, I just overheard her talking to all the other girls one day back in school… A few of the girls were talking about the boys, and they started on me being smart, but TenTen just frowned and said I was too boring… No way _I'd_ confess…that's just way too troublesome…" His cheeks turned slightly pink, but that soon passed. "But, like I said, girls are troublesome, so don't even bother going after her or anything, Chouji."

Chouji made a slight humming sound, like he was a bit disappointed, and Shikamaru grimaced, mentally berating himself. Trying to lessen the blow he may have caused, he mumbled– "Besides, she likes Naruto, doesn't she? You've got no chance against him, Chouji. She's been in love with him since we were all in diapers, practically! Don't even risk getting rejected, Chouji. It'll just make you feel bad."

Chouji hummed again, thinking to himself. _'I dunno… I think I'd feel worse if I lived with regret…' _He turned red again, suddenly realizing what Shikamaru was implying. "W-Wait! I don't even like her! I just…I just think she's cute…is…is all…" He trailed off dumbly, soon realizing he was convincing himself more than anything.

He groaned, putting his head in his hands. He didn't even feel like eating right now.

--

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling of the kitchen. He said she sounded like Naruto… It was the best compliment she'd ever received, and she had to repay him somehow. But when it came to boys, she was clueless. What would a boy want? She knew Naruto liked ramen, but aside from him, she was clueless to the other boys in Konoha…

"Th-Think, Hinata-chan!" She groaned, turning red and looking to the stove. Minutes passed, and nothing came to mind. She sighed, making a small whimper of despair.

So that was it. She'd make Chouji some ramen…as a proper thanks…

--

Shikamaru glanced back over at Chouji, sitting up finally. "Don't look so down, Chouji. Don't even worry about girls. Ehhh…" He looked at Chouji's uneaten bag of chips–he hadn't been eating at all for the past thirty minutes. "Chouji, really, don't get so upset about this… It's just a girl, right? A Hyuuga, at that. They're all a bit iffy anyway…"

Chouji stood up, leaving his chips on the ground. "There's really nothing wrong, Shikamaru. I'm just…tired. I need to get home, so…bye."

"Chouji, wai…t…" Shikamaru trailed off, realizing it'd probably be better for his friend to work things out on his own. He sighed, flopping back down on the ground, disgruntled again.

"Ah, what do I care anyway? It's just a stupid _girl_ problem…"

As Chouji walked off, he stumbled into the square, feeling bad. He felt drained and tired, and all he wanted to do right now was go lie down. Shikamaru probably wouldn't understand; he was too laid-back to care about girls, or to really give him any meaningful advice on the subject. I mean, he was upset about TenTen, but he'd recovered from that so easily! Sure, he'd said to stay away from Hinata…but what if he didn't _want_ to stay away? Hinata was a nice girl, and even if she was more in love with Naruto, it didn't change the fact that he wanted to see her right now…

"Ch-Chouji-kun!"

His head whirled around, his strength and appetite suddenly returning. That was Hinata's voice! Why'd she want to talk to him?? He caught sight of her petite form stumbling over to him awkwardly through the throng of people separating them. When she was within range, he noticed a small thermos of some kind, and a little bag around her arm.

She walked towards him, but someone pushed by her, nearly knocking her over. She gave a slight squeaking sound, and Chouji bumbled over, catching her arm before she fell. She looked up at him, face red from embarrassment. She turned away, stuttering, but he couldn't hear her clearly.

He looked around, spying a secluded-looking spot a few buildings down, by the park. "Uh…c-come on…" He dragged her off, towards the park, and she followed, eager to get out of that giant crowd of strangers.

Once there, he sat down on a bench nearby. She took a seat next to him handed him the thermos. "Uh…I…I wanted to thank you p-properly…for yesterday…"

Chouji blinked wondering what on earth she meant. "I didn't do anything. I should be the one thanking you!" He smiled a little, but her face just fell.

"O-Oh…I… S-Sorry. I didn't…realize…"

He paled, realizing he'd said something wrong. So, he tried to change the subject. "Th-Thanks for this, but what is it?" He opened the thermos, spying ramen noodles inside. "R-Ramen?" His face fell, suddenly remembering. "Oh… …I'm not Naruto, you know…"

Her face flushed, and she stuttered again. "D-Do you not like it? I-I-I'm sorry… I thought…"

He frowned, sure he wouldn't let her down a third time. So, he lifted the thermos, tilting it down and letting the entire contents fall into his mouth. He devoured the entire meal she'd prepared in one bite, and he turned to her, smiling. "Ah… that was very good, Hinata. You're a pretty good cook."

Her eyes were wide, and she was staring at him, slack-jawed. Her expression was so comical, he couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "S-Sorry… I probably should've warned you ahead of time I ate like that…" Suddenly guilt washed over him–she probably felt like she hadn't made enough now.

She shook herself out of it and busied herself with the bag she'd carried. "Ah, but–! I…I was making it, and I…I realized you'd probably like something to go along w-with it…" She pulled out a box from the bag, along with a pair of chopsticks. She handed them to him, and he took it eagerly, excited to see what was inside.

He opened it to find yakiniku and rice, along with a small plum. He looked at the dish, then back to her, then finally back to the dish, his eyes watering up at the beauty of it. He gave her a big smile. "W-Wow, Hinata! It looks delicious!" He took a bite, grabbing a slice of meat from it and chomping down. The sheer taste of it nearly brought tears to his eyes. "It _is_ delicious! D-Do you cook often, Hinata??" He settled down to finishing off the rest of it, making sure to save the plum for last.

Hinata turned pink, smiling a little. "Th-Thank you… I…I cook for K-Kiba and Shino sometimes when we go out on missions…but…but I've never tried cooking for anybody else b-before. I want to try and cook s-something for Naruto…but I'm afraid he won't like it…"

"Of course he'd like it! Your cooking's amazing, Hinata! You should totally give him a boxed lunch! Anyone'd fall for you if they tasted your cooking!"

Her face turned red, and she smiled a little. "Y-Y-You really think so…? Th-Thank you…" Chouji had always been so nice; he was probably just being polite again.

"You cook better than my mom, and that's saying something! My mom's pretty much the best cook in our clan, and she's twice your age! You've got talent, Hinata!"

She turned even deeper red. She put her hands on her cheeks, trying to keep herself from fainting. He was complimenting her. How many dishes would she have to cook to repay him for all these nice compliments he was giving? He was so nice, it was staring to look like she'd have to spend the rest of her life– Her face turned even darker, and she stood up, feeling woozy.

'_Hinata, what are you thinking?? That sounds like marriage! Ooooh, don't go thinking like _that_! Just one more dish, and you'll be done. Just one more dish for that talent comment, and that's it… Oh, but there was also that comment about anyone falling for you if they tasted your cooking… Two more dishes, then! Two more dishes and you'll be even, Hinata. Just remember, you're practicing for Naruto!' _She screamed at herself mentally, trying to calm herself down.

"That was embarrassing…" she whispered, and Chouji looked up at her.

"Did you say something, Hinata?"

She turned red again, stuttering. "N-N-N-Nothing… Y-You can keep the box… I really have to go now!" As she dashed off, she kept repeating that mantra in her head– _'It's all practice for Naruto; it's all practice for Naruto; it's all practice for–'_

And that's when it happened. She ran straight into that orange-garbed blond she loved so much. She fell over, landing on her rear, and looked up in shock. Naruto turned around, rubbing his head.

"Ow! That was rude, you–" He broke out into a grin when he saw who it was. "Oh! It's you, Hinata! You okay? Sorry about that!"

She gasped, realizing she'd come into contact with him. _'I…I t-t-t-touched him… I touched…N-N-Naruto!!'_

And he looked back where she'd come from. "I saw you running around with a bunch of bags and a thermos, and I see Chouji's got them now. You made lunch for Chouji?" He grinned. "You must like him a lot, huh?"

Instead of turning red, she paled, blurting out the first words that came to her mind. "N-No! I don't like him at all!!"

Naruto looked back at Chouji and shrugged. "Ah, well, that's a shame. I'm sure a nice girl like you would get along with him pretty well…" He reached his hand down, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. She turned bright red and the second he let go, she doubled back over again, her knees buckling under her.

'_He grabbed my hand! He grabbed my hand!! He said I was nice, I touched him, and now he's touched me and said I was nice!'_

Her face turned redder and redder, until finally Naruto laughed, bending down towards her again. "Looks like you forgot how to walk, Hinata! Let me help you up again."

She screamed, standing up and dashing away in terror before she fainted in the square or worse--landed on him when she fainted. Naruto just watched her leave, scratching his head. "Huh…usually she passes out…"

She reached her house in record time, she ran so fast. As she panted and wheezed her way onto the porch, she couldn't get those words out of her head.

'_No! I don't like him at all!!'_

She whimpered, feeling tears prick at her eyelashes. That was so mean of her… She didn't mean it. She made it sound she hated him, but she didn't hate him at all. He'd complimented her so many times and he was really, really nice. She had no right to say she didn't like him at all–that was cruel. But she was so panicked that Naruto thought she liked Chouji like _that_ that she blurted out something stupid.

Finally, she wiped the tears away before they dripped down her cheeks and rolled over onto her back. She looked up at the sky, sighing.

Three dishes. Three dishes and she would be even. She just hoped he didn't compliment her too much tomorrow or she'd have to add on another dish.


	3. Tororo Soba and Jelly Buns

_Yessss. I finished it shortly after receiving Mis-Monster-Kimono's review. Okay, so I ended up finishing it thirty minutes later, but I had to refresh myself on Rock Lee. Since he's one of my friend's favorite characters (BETH), I already knew that he couldn't use the same jutsu the other kids could; however, I kept thinking he was using _genjutsu _instead of _taijutsu._Yeah, how stupid of me. I'm so glad I decided to double-check, because I would've felt REALLY silly if I submitted it and started getting reviews like--"Hey, it's freakin' obvious you don't know what you're talking about, dumb-shit!"_

_About what Chouji eats in this one--since I know what it is other than just meat, I gave it the name of what it really is in English. I used the Japanese name for it in the title for this chapter. I got this dish from the "Arisa Likes the Rooster" chapter in the manga. If that spoiled it for anyone, tough luck. The manga's already gotten to the "Akito has a terrible secret that I won't spoil for anyone like my friends spoiled for me" part, and so you should probably have all read the part with Arisa. (It's in book 9, and the terrible secret is in book 19.) And when I say terrible, I mean terrible for all the yaoi fangirls. (CRYS)_

_Speaking of terrible, at the very end, Shikamaru totally beats Chouji over the head. Now, that very same thing happened to me with my friend Beth (Yes, Rock Lee Beth), when we went to go show Brett around campus since he's thinking about not going to Devry anymore. And she hit me over the head with a bottle of water four times in one sitting, then once more when I said something about her being a bit large. Ooops. I'll never say, "So THAT'S how you relate to Chouji!" to her face ever again. I'm absolutely dreading going to college with her, since she'd probably hit me upside the head a few times and people would think we were both idiots or something._

_But I'm rambling again, aren't I? I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I enjoyed writing it._

_Oh, and before I forget, I spelled it Gai rather than Guy, because there's nothing more I hate than people spelling it like that. Sure, it may be official or something--I don't know--, but it bugs me to no end. He's Japanese. You don't spell Fai Fye, do you!? (Though I HAVE seen quite a few people spell it like that.)_

* * *

**His Favorite Food  
**_Part Three -- "Tororo Soba and Jelly Buns"_

They were training the next day, again. Chouji was trying his hardest, and Ino was trying out a new technique she had recently learned about from her father, and Shikamaru…Shikamaru was just giving Chouji some helpful pointers, since Asuma never expected much out of him, After all, he was already a few levels beyond them. The only reason he actually worked was when Asuma was getting them to compliment each other while fighting.

"Hey, Ino!"

A familiar voice jolted them out of training, and Asuma looked up from his cigarette at Gai's team, walking toward Gai's training ground a block down. Where Gai was, he had no clue, but there was his team, wandering off to go train.

TenTen was waving at them, smiling a little, and Neji was looking aggravated–he had better things to be doing than dawdling. Rock Lee was talking to him, looking official, and Neji was just glaring at him every once in a while and nodding. It was obvious he had no interest in what the "green beast" of Konoha was trying to teach him.

Ino stopped immediately and ran over, just as the two boys stopped, walking over a little, Shikamaru leading. "Hey, TenTen! How's training going! Are your team mates being as annoying as mine??" Ino's smile was bright, though Shikamaru could tell she was obviously going to yell at them after the other girl was gone.

TenTen smiled, holding up two fingers. "Not really. Just Neji being disgruntled and Lee being Lee." She looked over at Ino's teammates. "Hey Chouji! Oh, and hi. _Shikamaru_."

Shikamaru just narrowed his eyes. TenTen turned to Ino, whispered to her, though Shikamaru could hear it perfectly fine. "Is Shikamaru being lazy as always?"

Ino started to complain. "Yeah, and Chouji, too! He took a snack break ten minutes ago, and now it looks like we'll be starting another one!"

The affronted genius shot a pleasant smile his teammate's way. "The only break we're taking is yours and that's to talk to your useless friends, Ino."

TenTen turned, looking affronted this time. "_Excuse_ me? I'm _not_ useless, Antler-face."

He smiled. "Huh…Antler-face." His face fell, and he suddenly felt like shit. "Actually, that's a new one." He laughed. "Wow, that actually stung a little." It felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, and he shot Chouji a look, as if telling him with his eyes that _that_ was why he hated dealing with women.

TenTen shot him a victorious smirk and turned back to Ino. "Well, I'll let you whip your boys back into shape while I go deal with mine…"

Shikamaru glared, looking back at her. "You'll never get a boyfriend with an attitude like _that_…"

TenTen turned to him, shrugging before turning around, walking back to her teammates. As she walked way, he could hear her shout back at him, "All the better for me. Boys are too _troublesome_."

Ino burst out laughing and turned back to Shikamaru, intent on taking her friend's advice and getting the bastard back for that "turkey leg" comment the other day. "She really _hates_ you, Shikamaru. All the girls have a problem with that attitude of yours, you know, and TenTen's the one who's got the biggest problem with it. She hates your laziness even more than _me_. She said you were boring back at school, and I think I'm starting to see what she means…"

At that moment, Asuma stood up, tossing his cigarette to the ground. "Ino, why I don't I tutor you one-on-one today? You've got a problem with Shikamaru and Chouji not working as hard as you, but they aren't working on any new techniques, so why don't we let them off…"

Ino shot him a look. "Wh-What!? But that's not fair!"

Her teacher just smiled. "I'm not the one that had a problem with them 'slacking off' like that, Ino. Now come on, you know you'll learn this technique faster without them keeping you from focusing entirely." He turned to Shikamaru and Chouji. "You boys can get going now. Have fun, Shikamaru. And Chouji, try not to eat so much today. I've actually decided to try an experiment with you. We'll see the results tomorrow."

Chouji just frowned, glancing at Shikamaru. "What does he mean by that?" Shikamaru just nodded absentmindedly, not really answering his question at all–he had more important things on his mind–, and they both walked off, towards the top of the building they used to go to as children. There had been construction on a building nearby that spot, so they stopped going when it got too loud, but the construction was definitely done by now, so now was as good a time as any to go there now.

–––––––––––––––––––––

"I just don't get what TenTen's problem is with me. Ino's right. Out of all the girls, TenTen gives me a bad attitude more than all of them! She makes Ino look like a princess!"

Chouji shrugged, glancing over at a stand that was selling something that smelled tantalizing. He was starting to get hungry–it was almost lunch time. They were on their way to the building, and they were passing the alley they used to play near when they were all kids. "Perhaps," he said, "She's just not interested in boys much. I mean, we're only–"

"She's interested in Lee, then. All girls are interested in boys now! And it's obvious she likes Lee! They're always talking, always together–"

"They're teammates…"

"It doesn't matter! When people spend enough time around each other, it's only natural they start feeling something for them!"

Chouji hummed, feeling his tummy rumble. "Well, Lee likes Sakura, so I doubt if TenTen liked him she'd have a chance. Maybe she'll give up on him…"

Shikamaru thought about it, then froze, turning to Chouji. "Jeez! It's just like _you're_ situation! Even down to the girl liking a guy who likes Sakura! What's up with that??"

Chouji just smiled. It wasn't like Shikamaru to get worked up over something like this. Even when all the girls crowded around Sasuke at school, Shikamaru had no problems expressing how stupid they were all being. He just had no interest in dating, but for him to get worked up over a girl like this–

Chouji turned to Shikamaru, suddenly remembering something that would probably pull Shikamaru out of his funk. "Actually, Shikamaru, when we were in school, I also overheard a bunch of the girls talking. A lot of them thought TenTen really liked you."

Shikamaru just looked at him, eyes wide. "What? What are you _talking_ about?"

"Well, TenTen was never interested in Sasuke, so a few of the girls thought she liked someone else, like Hinata liked Naruto. They were talking about how they'd gone through all the boys in class with her. She laughed at pretty much all of their assumptions, sometimes actually gagging at their suggestions, like with Neji… So they assumed you were the only one left open. Maybe–"

"Ch-Chouji-kun!"

Chouji froze, spinning around. His stomach growled audibly, and even Shikamaru, who was getting lost in thought over his situation, couldn't help but smirk at the sound. Hinata ran up, holding another bag with a box in her hands. Chouji's smile brightened, and he walked over, meeting her half-way from her designated path.

She smiled, holding out the box for him. "I…I wanted to th-thank you for s-s-saying anyone would fall for my cooking…" He smelled the air surrounding her, detecting a hint of something sweet and starchy, like sweet potatoes, only sweeter.

"I said anyone would fall for _you_."

Her cheeks flared up. "O-Oh yeah… W-Well, thank you for saying that."

He grinned, his cheeks turning rosy. "It's true!"

Shikamaru cleared his throat, and the two turned around. Shikamaru looked at Hinata, then back at Chouji. "Why's she cooking you food? Is _that_ why you've been skipping the chips lately? I thought it was because you were depressed."

Hinata gasped, almost dropping the food. "S-S-Sorry…d-did you want some? I don't think I made enough for two…"

Shikamaru laughed, waving his hands at her. "Nah, I'm not hungry. But Chouji's stomach's been growling all day. You should probably feed him before he turns his sights on…something else…" He gave a sly smirk, and Chouji shot him a dirty look.

"Shikamaru…"

"What? You _are_ pretty hungry, Chouji. Just eat what the nice girl gave you. I need to go somewhere and think, so you can find me at our spot later. See ya." And he turned around and walked away.

Chouji turned back to Hinata, smiling. "Uh…thanks for the food again, but you didn't have to."

"Oh, b-but I wanted to… To thank you for the other day… I made grated yam noodles… And!" She handed him the box, reaching into the bag she had. "And I picked up some jelly buns on the way over…"

He could already feel himself salivating at the meal she prepared for him–though he wasn't sure if he could handle something that tasted so sweet–, and she looked through the bag fervently. "Um…I…I forgot some chopsticks…" She turned red. "I…I…I fo-forget about the chopsticks…!"

Chouji put a hand on her arm, smiling. "It's okay, Hinata-chan…"

She ripped her arm away from him, big pale eyes staring up at him, her face bright red. "Wh-What??"

"I said it was okay, Hinata…"

She paled, rubbing her arm where the strap of the bag was. "O-O-Oh…" She handed him the bag. "J-Just a second… I-I-I'll go pick up some chopsticks for you!" As she dashed off, Chouji found a secluded spot off to the side of the street and sat down, staring at the noodles. He looked at it, contemplating just eating it with his hands, but that was too rude, especially since she was going out of her way to go find some. Well, he could always start with a jelly bun! He reached into the bag, grabbing a jelly bun and looking at it hungrily.

"Hey, Chouji! Whatcha got there for lunch?"

He looked up to see Naruto walking over. The boy grinned, turning pink slightly. "Er…grated yam noodles and jelly buns."

"That's pretty…er…" Naruto turned a sickly shade of green and scrunched his nose. "You _like_ eating yams? That's kind of gross… And jelly buns? What, did you suddenly develop a sweet tooth? …Did your mom make it for you?" Something flickered in his eyes, something Chouji couldn't begin to understand since he had a mother, and the boy shook his head.

"N-No. Hinata made it for me." His cheeks flushed scarlet, and Naruto's mood brightened considerably.

He narrowed his eyes, grinning, feisty. "Ho ho ho! Hinata brought you a boxed lunch the other day, too! I saw while I was walking by! Are you two…_dating_??" He gave him a lewd smile, and Chouji's cheeks darkened further when he saw Hinata behind Naruto, her face flushed and the chopsticks dropping from her hands. She'd heard him.

Behind Naruto, she nearly screamed. "N-N-Never, Naruto-kun! I would never! He's too fat!" The second those words left her mouth she gasped, clamping her hands over her mouth and looking sorrier than she ever had before.

Naruto turned and looked, his jaw dropping, almost afraid Chouji would beat the living tar out of her. But it never happened, since Chouji's face was crumpling. He stood up, forgetting to even pick up the food to take with him, and left.

Naruto winced. "Yowch! Hinata, that was mean! You didn't have to say it like that…"

Her face fell, and she couldn't bring her hands away from her mouth. She started to shake, guilty and feeling an onslaught of tears. She felt sick. Naruto had berated her, she'd called Chouji fat, she had let her words move before she could filter them, and now she had to make it up to him somehow. She didn't know how, but grated yam noodles wouldn't make something like this right. She had to think fancier.

Tears started running down her cheeks, and Naruto frowned, walking over and patting her on the back, but even that didn't make her heart flutter like it normally did. She felt too terrible to think about anything else but the look on Chouji's face and the uneaten food left on the ground.

"Come on, Hinata-chan, don't cry…"

He placed a hand on her arm, but she turned, walking away.

––––––––––––––––

He sighed, looking around. He felt like crying; most people called him a fatass and he got angry, and even though Hinata had only called him fat, he felt miserable. It was like being a little kid again, having to deal with the comments thrown at him all the time, but ten times worse.

He could probably go where Shikamaru was waiting for him, but he didn't want to cry in front of his friend. Shikamaru wouldn't know how to handle it. Would _anyone_ know how to handle it? No one ever knew what to do with people who were crying, except for maybe Naruto. He always knew the right things to say.

He sighed, feeling tears prick at his eyelashes. His breathing hitched, and he felt himself sob without wanting to. He wasn't even all the way out in the middle of nowhere–he didn't want to cry when someone could easily walk by. His hands went to his eyes and he started to walk faster.

"Chouji?"

He walked faster, succeeding in colliding with a tree. Now he _really_ had something to cry about. Whoever it was held back a laugh, which, considering the view from their perspective, it was probably hilarious to watch… Something about the voice was familiar. Like he'd heard it earlier in the day.

"Holy– Chouji, are you alright!?"

He looked up to see TenTen standing over him, hiding a smile. She saw his face and the smile faded, turned to worry. She cursed, something he didn't expect from her. "Are you alright, Chouji? You're crying and you look like a _mess_. Where's Shikamaru? Weren't you guys training together?"

He couldn't help it–he probably looked utterly stupid right now, but looking at TenTen and remembering Shikamaru just made him burst into tears. He sobbed, hiccupped, shook, and wiped at his eyes constantly, but it didn't help. He hadn't cried this much in years.

TenTen sighed, leaving. Off in the distance, he heard her shouting toward her team mates.

"Found my kunai! Gai-sensei, don't you think we need a lunch break? I'm starving."

"That sounds great! Lee, Neji, why don't we do that?"

"Gai-sensei, what about our training?? I'm still not understanding this taijutsu technique you taught me!"

"Lee, I'll explain it to you over lunch, so let's all take a break! …TenTen, aren't you coming with us??"

"Nah, I'm going to go…uh…pee. I'll catch up with you guys later."

"You shouldn't pee in the forest, TenTen. No one wants a rash down there; I know from experience!"

"Uh…thanks…for the advice, Gai-sensei…"

"I know I will take your advice to heart, Gai-sensei! You won't see a rash where the sun doesn't shine on _me_!"

"Good for you, Lee! Neji, you should take my advice, too!"

As their voices trailed off in the distance, he could distinctly hear Neji's disgusted response to their conversation– "Ooof…"

He heard footsteps stomping through the underbrush of the forest, making soft crunches as she walked, and soon TenTen had walked over and sat down next to him. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw his crying had practically stopped by then. "So you're done crying? You should probably go find Shikamaru. He seems to know how to give advice pretty well… I don't know why you're crying, but it can't _possibly_ be life-altering or anything like that. I'm sure I can't give you as good advice as Shikamaru gives, but maybe I can help…"

"It's girl problems… You probably wouldn't be interested."

She smirked, stretching her back muscles idly. "You _bet_ I'd be interested. I'm a girl; I'm sure I could come up with a solution."

He sighed, refusing to give her a hint of any kind. "There's…a girl I think is cute… And she called me fat."

TenTen burst out laughing. "Is _that_ all? Then it doesn't really matter, does it? Besides, anyone'd be better than Ino. She's a bit of a gossip…"

He blinked, unsure he heard correctly. "Wait, do you not like Ino? Then why do you hang around us every once in a while?"

She smiled. "Because you and Shikamaru aren't half-bad. It's fun to watch you two train. It's refreshing to see something that doesn't reek of martial arts every once in a while. I mean, honestly? I get sick and tired of weapons and fist-fighting. Watching you two is refreshing, since you guys actually train like that. Shino's pretty interesting to watch, too, but everyone else here seems to practice fist-fighting and kunai-throwing too much. Also, it's nice to see Shikamaru come up with different ways of getting out of the sticky situations Asuma likes putting him into."

"But didn't you have a problem with Shikamaru? That's why you're always fighting with him, right?"

She laughed. "Of course not! I've got nothing against him! It's the girls I've got a problem with. Just because I didn't like Sasuke, they assumed I liked Shikamaru. I really don't see the appeal in guys who have no interest in girls. Everyone flocked around Sasuke, but it was obvious he didn't give any of them a second glance. I'm just not interested in guys like that."

Chouji blinked again, unsure if he was begging to be yelled at. "So…are you…more interested in guys like Lee?"

She burst out laughing and stood up, already starting to walk away. "_Really_? He's a bit goofy, isn't he? See you later, Chouji. You should probably go talk to Shikamaru about this whole girl thing. I doubt he'd be able to say anything helpful, but at least your friend would know something was up, and that's the most important thing."

–––––––––––

Shikamaru could hear him walking up the steps to the top of the building by the time he opened his eyes and sat up. He turned, noticing Chouji's walk was even more slow and bumbly than usual. He frowned, expecting the worse. So, he did the only thing he could do–he patted the seat next to him and scooted over.

Chouji took a spot next to him, looking up at the clouds. "I ran into TenTen…"

Shikamaru just gave a low groan, letting him know he heard him, but other than that, he said nothing. Chouji turned to him. "Hinata called me fat."

For a few moments, neither of them said anything, and Shikamaru's eyes were wide as he stared at his friend. Then, he broke into laughter. "Pfffffwahahahaha!! She _what_? Ha ha ha! She called you _f-f-__fffat_?? That can't possibly be the whole story!"

"Well, Naruto thought we were dating, and she happened to walk up when he asked if we were…" He looked down at his gut, feeling miserable all over again. "And then…she said she'd never do anything like that because I was too fat…"

Shikamaru wiped a tear from his eye and gave Chouji a long look, contemplating this. Then, he cleared his throat, composing himself again. "Chouji, even a girl like _Hinata_ would blurt something like that out when the guy she likes asks if she's dating someone else. Girls do anything to make the guy they like think they're still single. I'm sure if Hinata was more outspoken, she'd probably flirt with him, but she's not, so she feels like she has to wait for Naruto to come to _her_."

Chouji blinked, suddenly realizing that was more help than he expected. "Wow, Shikamaru. For someone who doesn't really care about girls, you sure do know a lot about them…"

Shikamaru just shrugged, giving Chouji a smug smile. "What can I say? I'm good at reading people."

"Hmmm…and after Tenten said you wouldn't come up with something useful to tell me…"

"She _what_??"

Shikamaru smacked him over the head, and Chouji started laughing. And like that, things seemed to be okay for them. It was only a matter of time before they forgot all about their girl troubles…


	4. The Cupcake of Forgiveness

_Hey guys. Hope you all like this chapter. I tried to add some humor, so if you don't like Shino and Kiba acting like a comedy duo, turn back now. (Or should I say Akamaru and Kiba?)  
_

_Hope you all get the whole metaphor with the cupcake at the end._

_Oh. And I also added in some NejiTen in here. At least one-sided. Not sure if I'll make them official in this story or anything. What about Shikamaru, you say? I'll get there eventually. Right now, I just want to write some Neji in here. Since I hate him, but like how much of an ass he is. He's probably one of the only ones I like less than Orochimaru. Sad to say I like Orochimaru more than Neji. Sorry, Neji. xD I'd apologize about Sasuke, but he needs no apologies. He's a dick. (If you didn't know, Sasuke's last on my list of people I like. And when I say people I like, I mean he's top on the list of people I hate in that show.)_

_Anyone else notice how much of a Mary-Sue Sasuke turned into in the Time-Skip? Yeah, all the characters got better...except for Sauce-gay, naturally. He had to become even more of a prick. After all, the series is called Naruto, not Sasuke. So when they decided to talk more about Sasuke in the Time-Skip, they had to make him the bad guy so as not to ruin everyone's faithfulness to Naruto. (I even like Sasuke's new teammates more than him! How sad is _that_? They're all even more loyal to Orochimaru than Sasuke was and I like them more! Same with the Song village peeps, like Dosu.)_

_Sorry for ranting. Just forget about it and enjoy the chapter. (I really have room to talk since I refuse to watch the show and yet read the Time-Skip arc of the manga.)  
_

* * *

**His Favorite Food  
**_Part Four -- "The Cupcake of Forgiveness"_

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling, rolling over in her futon. She didn't want to get up. Not if it risked seeing Chouji. What would she say to him? She couldn't just say sorry. And she didn't know of anything particularly fancy to make him to make it up to him, and it wasn't like–

She gasped, sitting up out of bed. It looked like– She turned to the window, nearly screaming when she saw it was almost time for lunch. She'd have to hurry to make something–it didn't matter what!

She scrambled into the kitchen, struggling to find something to make. What would be easiest? What would be something that would show how sorry she was? And that was when she saw it–instant cake mix.

A giant lemon cupcake. That was perfect!

–––––––––––––––––

An hour later, she was carrying a small box with the cupcake inside. It was burnt; she'd left it in too long. And to make things worse, she'd accidentally mixed salt into the icing mix instead of sugar, so it tasted really, really bad, but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe he'd realize how upset and sorry she was and forgive her…

"Heyyy, Hinata-chan! I see you've made something again! Are you going to give it to Naruto?? You probably shouldn't; it smells burnt."

She turned to see Kiba walking next to her, swinging his arms absentmindedly. Akamaru was perched on his head, sniffing in her direction disdainfully. Shino was beside him, looking skulky as usual.

"I-It's for…" She turned red. "It's for Chouji-kun, because I called him fat…"

Kiba burst out laughing, and Akamaru began howling, as if understanding the joke. Shino was shaking, and it looked like he was trying so hard not to burst into tears in his attempt to not laugh. She sighed, stopping her walk and turning to them. "I…I mean it… He…He looked so s-sad, and I feel bad…"

"Shino, did you hear that?" Kiba wiped a tear from his eye and elbowed Shino, who immediately started to wheeze as the laughter trickled out of his mouth, pushed out of his lungs by that nudge. Kiba quirked a brow and turned back to Hinata, trying his hardest to ignore how creepy and old Shino was starting to sound. "Hinata, Chouji's used to people calling him fat. Now he just beats us up when we call him a fatass. I'm sure Shikamaru made him feel better. You don't have to do anything to make up for it."

Her cheeks flared and she felt something stir in her, an anger she couldn't quite place. "H-He shouldn't be used to it! He's too nice to have people s-step on him like that! N-Naruto wouldn't be okay with it!"

Shino then stopped laughing, turning serious again. "Yeah, well, not everyone's like Naruto, Hinata. It's about time you realized that not everyone's as _perfect_ as you think Naruto is. So, you should stop making Chouji into Naruto."

She turned red, feeling even more terrible. "I…I know…but…"

Kiba broke in. "Yeah, Hinata. Naruto's the guy you should be trying to cook food for. So why don't you start trying to cook something for Naruto?"

"I…I don't know… I just…" Her face got redder and redder, and soon she felt like she was going to fall over, until she saw him. She glanced over, noticing Chouji duck behind a building when he saw her. Without thinking, she darted off in the direction he went.

Kiba held out his hand. "W-Wait…Hinata-chan…" He scratched his head, turning back to Shino. "See her get all red like that? She usually does that around Naruto… Oh! Yeah, I was talking to Naruto the other day, and he said she was crying so he tried to comfort her."

Shino nodded. "And? Did he end up having to carry her off somewhere so she could come to?"

"No. She just walked off!" Akamaru barked in agreement, and Kiba glanced up at his pal. "Yeah! I know it's peculiar!" He turned back to Shino. "Usually she'd faint, right?"

For a minute they stood there, lost in thought, until finally Shino smiled, looking at his teammate. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Kiba shot him a sly smile, snickering. "Hell yes I am! But where are we going to find a giant mouse trap _this_ time of year?"

"…What? N-No! No, I mean about the whole Chouji issue. She suddenly started turning red when she talked about him, and now all of a sudden she starts cooking him food. Not to mention that she stopped fainting every time Naruto was anywhere near her or acknowledging her in any way."

"Oh… Yeah, I can't _wait_ to see how this whole Chouji thing will turn out! Ten bucks Chouji rejects the whole thing!"

Shino just shook his head. "To think, someone like you would bet against their friend, Kiba…"

"What? No, I'm betting against that food of hers! It reeked like…like…" Akamaru barked, and Kiba snapped his fingers together, looking up and pointing at his pup-pal. "Yeah, it reeked like lemon-scented **ass**! Talk about gross!"

–––––––––––––––––––

Asuma sighed, taking a drag from his cigarette. Shikamaru coughed overdramatically and slurped a little bit on the noodles Asuma had taken them out for. Their team captain and teacher just rolled his eyes. "One day when you're older, you'll understand why I smoke, Shikamaru."

"Yeah, like I'd _want_ lung cancer. I'd never smoke, Asuma-sensei."

Asuma chuckled, giving him a bright smile. "Ah, so it's because you're concerned about my health? You look up to me that much, Shikamaru? Better watch out. One of these days you'll find yourself smoking to follow in my footsteps."

Shikamaru laughed. "Yeah right…"

Beside them, Ino grumbled. "God! Where's Chouji!? He's the whole reason you took us out, Asuma-sensei; him and that dumb experiment of yours!"

Chouji stumbled in the door of the restaurant, breathing heavily. He looked weak, and as he slid into the spot beside Shikamaru, it was apparent his face was stuck between paling and flushing scarlet. "S-S-Sorry… I got caught up with…er…something…" He turned even more red and glanced at Shikamaru. "I didn't eat breakfast this morning. I couldn't even stomach my mom's specialty…" His stomach growled, and Shikamaru slid his bowl over to his friend.

Asuma stopped, grabbing the bowl and pushing towards the edge of the table, balancing it perfectly, just enough so that if Chouji reached for it, it'd most likely spill all over the ground. He cleared his throat, reaching a hand over and grabbing Chouji's cheeks. "Not so fast. I need to see how this experiment went."

Chouji blinked. "H-Huh?"

"What have you eaten since that talk I had with you?" He pinched the boy's cheeks, taking his temperature. He frowned. "You seem cooler than normal, Chouji."

Shikamaru couldn't help but snicker. "Geez, Chouji. Asuma-sensei told you to cut back on the food, not turn into Ino."

Ino glared. "You take that back, Prongs-head!" She smiled, a bit pleased with her retort, but Shikamaru just gave her a bored look, twiddling his thumbs idly and glancing up towards the ceiling, his eyes turning toward the hair pulled up at the top of his head.

"Oh, ha ha. Prongs-head? You called me that _last week_. Try to come up with something new, Miss Piggie. And it's obvious you're starving yourself since you brag about how much less you eat than Sakura while your boobs are still bigger than hers."

She glared at him. "Miss _Piggie_? Now who looks like they're running out of material?? And I'll have you know–" She put a hand to her chest, looking proud of herself. "–that I don't starve myself."

"Maybe you should."

She gasped, offended and hurt, but Asuma held up his hand, silencing the two. He turned to Chouji, serious. "Chouji, you _were_ eating relatively normal yesterday, weren't you?"

Chouji's eyes wandered around the room. "Uh…well…I got upset at lunch and never ate…and I ate very little at dinner… I skipped the chips throughout the day. That's what you wanted, right?"

Asuma sighed, putting his face down and handing him the bowl. "No, I wanted you to just stop eating the chips and see what happened, but it's obvious that your sudden change in not eating messed up your body pretty badly. Usually you have no problems running here, but you were out of breath when you walked in. Your temperature is colder than normal and you look weaker than I've ever seen you." He watched him eat, slurping at his noodles slowly, a bit more lackluster than was usual for him.

"Chouji, what happened at lunch the other day?"

Chouji turned red, looking back toward his teacher. He turned to Ino, then looked to Shikamaru for advice. Shikamaru glanced at Ino, but nodded his head anyway. Chouji sighed, slurping up a noodle and stuttering. "W-Well…a girl…called me fat."

Ino burst into hysterics and clapped her hands, looking like some kind of chimpanzee. She died down after a while, still excited. "It was Sakura, wasn't it!? That girl is so mean!" Her teammates shot her a look, as did Asuma, but they said nothing.

Chouji gulped, hoping she wouldn't assume something was going on, or that he liked the girl he was about to mention. "Well…it was…Hinata…"

Ino's smile faded and she actually looked concerned. "Oh my gosh, d-did she really call you fat, Chouji? That's terrible! Hinata's so quiet and polite… I don't see why she'd suddenly call you fat like that… No wonder you're upset. I'd be upset, too…" She pondered over it for a moment, then held out her finger. "Oh! That's it! Maybe you weren't so much hurt as you were shocked! I'd be shocked, too! She's so quiet, and you'd never take her for one to say something mean like that, so perhaps you got so shocked you found you couldn't eat!"

Shikamaru gave her a side-glance; he would've considered her an idiot had he not remembered they hadn't filled her in on how much Chouji liked the girl. Asuma just shook his head. "I doubt that's the case, but that's in the past, Chouji. Just be sure you eat. You didn't replenish your strength after training the other day, and now your body's worn out from the lower levels of chakra…"

Chouji nodded, burying himself in his noodles.

––––––––––––––––

She looked around, finding herself completely lost. Where had he gone?? He'd ducked behind a building, and when she followed him, he wasn't anywhere to be found! She grew even more flustered, the more she looked. Finally, she ran into the square to see TenTen and Neji eating together.

"I can't believe Lee hasn't showed up yet. Usually he's so punctual…" TenTen exclaimed.

Neji just shrugged, muttering. "He's probably off with Gai-sensei. You know how crazy those two are. Maybe it's best he didn't show up…"

TenTen shrugged. "You're probably right about that. So, I forgot to ask how your training's going. Didn't you say you were training on Fridays now?"

Neji smiled a little. "Actually, it's going–" His face froze when he saw Hinata tottering up, and his eyes narrowed. "Oh God, I can't believe this… What's _she_ doing? She's going to ruin _everything_!"

TenTen quirked a brow in Neji's direction and looked over to see what was up just as Hinata waved pleasantly, albeit a bit flustered, in their direction. "H-Hi Neji-kun; H-Hi Ten-chan…"

She smiled, glancing at Neji. "Oh, it's your cousin, Neji."

"You don't have to remind me…"

She just laughed, turning to Hinata. "What's up, Hinata? You going somewhere?"

The Hyuuga panted a bit, out of breath, which made Neji roll his eyes. "Uh…actually, I was looking for Ch-Chouji… I w-w-wanted to give him something…"

Neji sat up straighter, suddenly smiling smugly. "That's what the Byakugan is for, Hinata. Maybe you should use that instead of running around all over the place…"

TenTen shot him a glare, but ignored it. Instead, she turned _back_ to Hinata, standing up. "Actually, I can help you look for him. Neji's being a stick-in-the-mud anyway. Come on, it's lunch time, so he'd most likely be somewhere eating, and there's not too many restaurants around. It should be easy."

Neji started digging a nail into the bench they'd been sharing, casting a look of pure hatred in his cousin's direction. Just like he suspected–Hinata had to come over and ruin everything _again_. It would take forever for him to convince Lee that he didn't have to eat with them in the future…

–––––––––––––––

"Wow, you're hardly eating anything, Chouji. Are you sure Hinata's comment didn't completely shatter you?"

Shikamaru smiled, turning to her. "No, you think?"

"Be quiet, Shikamaru. I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"Will you shut up! I'm just concerned for my teammate, alright? If you're going to give me a hard time about it, I'll have to kick your butt!"

"I'm not giving you a hard time about that. I'm giving you a hard time on your stupidity. There's a big difference, Ino."

From the entrance to the restaurant, they heard TenTen's pitchy voice ring out. "Oh, there he is!"

Shikamaru's head shot up faster than he would've liked Ino to see, but Ino's head shot up just as fast, so she took no notice. There, at the entrance, was TenTen making her way over to the table. Hinata was close behind, holding something in her hands. Shikamaru grumbled.

"Oh great…"

TenTen ignored him, looking at Chouji. "You never said _she_ was the one that called you fat, Chouji!" Both his and Hinata's faces fell, and she winced a little, turning to Asuma. "Hey, Asuma-san!"

Asuma smiled. "How's Gai doing?"

"Uh…crazy. As usual."

He nodded before turning to Hinata, more interested in _her_ teacher by far. "How is Kurenai?"

Hinata smiled softly, nodding her head, her voice barely heard over the din in the restaurant. "Sh-She's fine…" Asuma nodded, and Hinata turned back to Chouji.

Chouji looked up at her, feeling like crap. His face turned bright red, but her's soon matched his. She bent down, her back almost at a 90º angle. Her arms outstretched, the box held out to him like an offering of peace. "I-I-I'm _so_ sorry about the other day. P-Please forgive me for being so rude…"

Chouji took it, smiling. "Ah, it's okay, Hinata… I'm…I'm fine with it. You didn't have to do this…" He opened the package, and as the smell of burnt cupcake and salt filled the air, everyone in a two foot radius started to agree with him.

Ino finally decided to speak up. "Hinata, it's really no big deal. Everyone calls Chouji fat every once in a while; he was more shocked than anything else!"

Hinata's face turned red and she looked up, her face determined, her arms drawn to her chest, her hands clenched into fists. She opened her mouth to say something, but TenTen spoke first.

"Oh? And I suppose it's okay to just chock up his mood lately to shock, Ino? The only one who calls Chouji fat every once in a while is you. Everyone else has learned to hold their tongues and not say anything mean to someone's face, but it's just like you to have the awareness and consideration of a child."

Ino's gasp broke the tense silence that followed. "TenTen! I thought we were friends! How dare you say something like that to me!" She stood up, trying her best to get past Asuma, who was blocking her quite easily. Shikamaru snickered, and Chouji just turned even more red, wondering how on earth he became the topic of fights between people.

It was Hinata's voice next that caused everyone to fall silent again. Ino stopped trying to get past Asuma, Shikamaru's eyes widened and he turned to the Hyuuga girl, and Chouji's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Ch-Chouji-kun's t-too nice to have people step on him like that… I just hope that one day people start to realize they shouldn't do that to people like him… A-And it's w-wrong to put the blame onto someone like I-Ino, because there's far worse people out there… I…I'm sorry. I don't have to right to say anything like that right now…" Her face went red before she bolted out the door.

It was Asuma who broke the silence. As his chuckle filled the room, he turned to Chouji. "You're lucky to have a girl like that stand up for you, Chouji. Perhaps you can leave early and go talk to her?" He gave a helpful suggestion, but Chouji couldn't hear anything at the moment. He was too busy staring at the cupcake in front of him, knowing she was truly sorry.

And she'd stuck up for him, too! And she'd stuck up for Ino, as well; she was just such a nice girl, and he felt so happy receiving anything from her. This cupcake was a symbol of forgiveness, a peace offering of sorts, and he wasn't about to let it go uneaten. He picked it up, much to everyone's disgust, and took a bite out of it. Through the bitter taste of charred cake and salt, in the very middle of the cupcake, he tasted that sweet taste of lemon and felt his spirits lift. He took a few more bites, finally eating the entire thing.

Hinata had put all of her heart into making it, into making it something worthy of his forgiveness, and her efforts did not go unnoticed by him.

He swallowed the last bite, feeling the bitter taste go down his throat. He waited a moment, and the sweet aftertaste of lemon came, overpowering everything else, and he felt at ease.

He turned to Asuma, giving him a bright smile. "Hey, Asuma-sensei, you're paying for lunch, right? I'm hungry." Asuma was too relieved he'd gotten his appetite back to care how little would be left in his coin purse by the end of the day.


	5. Dirty Magazines and Yam Stew

_Wow. Chapter Five already? I had actually been typing it up before I posted the last chapter. Hope you all like Ino in this chapter. Because I know I do. For once. I'm already typing up Chapter Six, so hopefully (and if I don't get on the Sims 2 right after I upload this) you all should be able to see it before tomorrow.  
_

_Hope you all like Shino and Kiba being a comedy duo in this one, too. Yeah, and you don't make jokes about sequels unless there isn't going to be one. Otherwise it's just lame. _

_Oh! fun fact: The only girls I like in the show are Hinata, Sakura, TenTen, Kurenai, Karin, and Deidara. (HAHA!)_

* * *

**His Favorite Food  
**_Part Five -- "Dirty Magazines and Yam Stew"_

Curling up on a rock just outside of the square wasn't the most proper thing for her to be doing, nor was it productive in any way, but she felt too terrible to go home. She'd let herself go by running her mouth again, all about not saying mean things to Chouji, when she'd gone and called him fat. She'd had no room to talk, and what had she accomplished with that? All that happened was she made herself look foolish and hypocritical in front of Chouji and his friends.

"Chouji-kun is not Naruto-kun…" She sighed, muttering to herself. Shino's words kept echoing through her head.

"_You should stop making Chouji into Naruto."_

She couldn't help it! It wasn't like she tried to make him into Naruto; that's just what happened… And why did she do that, anyway? She had absolutely no idea.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. In the pit of her stomach, in the deep recesses of her heart, the answer was lurking–the truth–but she couldn't accept it. The second it made even the slightest movement forward, she found herself quelling it before it even reached her head and danced across her brain. Before it made itself well-known, she had to kill it. Before she found herself not liking–

There it was again! She had to stop it. Think of something else–anything!

The wind shifted, and she heard a rustling nearby her, causing her head to shoot over to the direction of the sound. Ino was staring at her, arms over her chest, eyes showing a hint of anger. Hinata's stomach dropped out and she paled even more. She knew it: Ino would yell at her.

"Thanks."

Her eyes widened, she looked back at Ino with an almost painfully pathetic look of surprise on her face. Ino rolled her eyes, uncrossing her arms and placing one against a tree, putting her weight on it.

"What you said back there. It was very kind, so thank you."

Shaking her head, she desperately tried to toss that kind of thanks off of her. "N-No, I…I had no right to–"

"Oh, give it a rest with that 'I'm not worthy' garbage you put yourself through. It was an accident what you said; Chouji ate your cupcake and enjoyed it; he got his appetite back and is smiling again. Everything's fine, so cut that attitude. You don't give yourself nearly enough credit. You're always worried about what Naruto thinks about you, but you should be more concerned with what _you_ think about yourself. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but it's sickening to see a girl care as much as you do about what a guy thinks of her. It's as if you need Naruto to tell you how great you are for it to be true. If you want to be like Naruto so much, just look at how he acts. He doesn't give a damn about what people think of him. He has inner strength. It's about time you got that, too." She turned, walking away, until Hinata stopped her.

"W-Wait!"

She turned around, looking agitated. "What _now_?"

"Th-Thank you…" She looked at her fingers, which were twining themselves around the strings of her coat.

"You don't have to thank me. I was just concerned you'd stop talking to Chouji." She made a motion to turn, but did a double-take at the sight of pink hair bobbing along next to a soft, spiky black head beyond a wall. Her face turned sour. "Oh no, she didn't!" She dashed off in that direction. "No way am I letting her get closer to Sasuke than me!"

Hinata watched her go, concern etched in her face for a moment until she realized Ino probably wasn't going to return any time soon. She sighed, standing up, firm in her new resolution. Well, that cupcake was a flop, but she had to somehow make up for it. And stew was probably the best way to do it. She didn't know many recipes for stew, so she figured she needed to go to a library to look up different recipes.

––––––––––––––

The next day, Chouji woke up bright and early, feeling refreshed and ready to train. But that wasn't the case, since they weren't going to be training today. He figured he might as well go to Shikamaru's house and they could both go off and watch the clouds or something.

Yes, that was quite a day plan. It'd be great.

And it was a great idea…until he found Shikamaru in a sour mood. He walked over to him as he sat there by the gate, and eyed him. Shikamaru looked up at him, his lip curling up in a sneer. "Why…?"

Chouji blinked, wondering what he meant. "Wh-What?"

"Why do women have to be so troublesome?"

"Uh…did something happen?"

"Everything happened, Chouji. But it's not important. Let's just go…"

Chouji said nothing, instead just opting to follow without comment. If it was bothering his friend that much, he'd blurt it out and rant about it for a while. For a while they walked around in circles, and Chouji wondered if he should say something.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Shikamaru grabbed his arm and dragged him into a nearby store, throwing him against a rack of some sort. What happened next nearly made Chouji pee his pants, because an entire rack's worth of dirty magazines collapsed over him, littering the area around his feet. He went pale, eyes darting around the room.

When he finally took in their surroundings, he found himself and Shikamaru in a smut shop. Kakashi's silver hair could be seen behind another rack, and he finally came out, turning to the other side of the rack. He looked completely oblivious of the two boys standing near the entrance amidst a pile of dirty magazines that had come tumbling down with a clatter, and instead was looking through the rack of books, disgruntled. From what they could see, he wasn't finding what he was looking for. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the book he'd just picked up accusingly, muttering, "Still not out yet…? I already have this one…"

Chouji's cheeks turned red and he turned to Shikamaru, sputtering. "Sh-Shikamaru! My mother would kill me if she found me a place like this!"

From the corner of his eye, Shikamaru could see Kakashi glance at them for a second, but that was no concern of his. He leaned into Chouji, his voice scarcely over a whisper. "If you haven't noticed yet, those idiots in Team Eight have been following us for ten minutes now! I don't know what they're planning, but it most likely has something to do with _you_. You walk out that door and call back inside, say something clever like, 'I'll come back for you later, Shikamaru,' or something like that. Got it? Then, I want you to continue in the direction we were just going in."

Chouji blinked and swallowed, not asking questions. He didn't need to know why Shikamaru wasn't going to follow him; he trusted that Shikamaru had a plan with this. So, he walked out the door and turned back, waving happily. "B-Bye Shikamaru. M-My mother would hate to find me in a place like this… Um…come meet me when you're done…"

And so he walked, a bit fast for how he normally walked, now that he knew someone was following him. And Shikamaru hadn't said who, so for all he knew it could've been just Hinata. The idea made him very uncomfortable for some reason. She usually did that to Naruto, right?

There was a shout behind him after a few moments and he turned around to see Shino and Kiba frozen in place in front of the shop. They were arguing with each other, and Chouji took it upon himself to dash over.

"What did I tell you, Kiba? Take the back way, right?? But you wouldn't listen."

"Shut up, Shino! Akamaru, attack Shikamaru! We have to get out of here!!"

But they were too late. Chouji jumped, grabbing Akamaru as he leapt from his pal's coat. He smiled, standing up with the struggling puppy in his arms to see Shikamaru in the entrance to the shop, his shadows connecting themselves to Kiba and Shino. His friend returned his smile, releasing the two.

Then, his face turned cold. "Why are you following us?" He turned to Shino, knowing he'd be sensible. "Shino…?"

But Shino shook his head obstinately, instead turning to Kiba and muttering. "This is all your fault. I told you we should've gone a different way, but you refused to let Chouji out of your sight. I _knew_ Shikamaru was onto us, but you wouldn't listen to _that_ either. And now you've no one to blame but yourself…"

Kiba laughed. "Oh, don't give me a guilt trip, Shino! Who cares if they know why!? We were waiting for Chouji to say something about Hinata! There, I said it!" He ripped Akamaru out of Chouji's plump arms, hugging the pup against his chest. "Now get your hands off my best friend!"

Shino shot his best friend a look. "You know Kiba, Akamaru will never live as long as a _human being_, like _me_ for instance…"

Kiba gasped, covering Akamaru's ears. "Shino! Akamaru doesn't know that yet! Why are you always so cruel to my pal!? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous!" He laughed, patting Akamaru on the head. "But that's too ridiculous for you, Shino. Being jealous of Akamaru… That's _absurd_."

Shino clenched his fists, his lips pulling into a tight line, and it looked almost as if he were about to swarm Kiba with bugs, until it happened.

Akamaru let out a soft bark and dropped out of Kiba's hands. He bit at his hindquarters, scratched at his ears, turning around in circles and yelping helplessly. Kiba screamed as the pup dashed off down the street. "A-Akamaru! Wh-What's wrong, buddy!?" He dashed off after his dog, completely oblivious. "You got fleas _again_!? That's the fifth time this year! Where are they all coming from!?"

Shino smirked, glancing at Shikamaru and giving him a frown. "You're lucky food never gets in the way of your friendship with Chouji." And without another word, he walked off.

Shikamaru watched the two go, glancing back at Chouji. "Those idiots. I swear, they get stupider each time I see them." He grumbled, stalking off in the direction of their training grounds and his favorite spot to watch clouds. Chouji followed him, not catching him mutter, "I better not get a comedy duo of Neji and Lee in my sequel, dammit."

–––––––––––––––––––

They were sitting, staring at the clouds, when Shikamaru finally blew up. He turned to Chouji, eyes set, lips in a tight line. "You said when you overheard her back at the Academy, she gagged when they asked her if she liked Neji. You hearing things funny?"

Chouji blinked, stuttering. "N-No. I distinctly remember–"

"Then why was she eating lunch with Neji yesterday? I followed her after you were done eating yesterday afternoon, and she met up with Neji. They laughed and started talking. What do you mean when you said she gagged?"

"Sh-She gagged. That's…what she did. I don't know what else to say."

He threw his arms up in the air, tossing them out from behind his head, groaning. "Why are women so _troublesome_!? And then Hinata has the gall to come over at _seven in the morning_ and ask me what you like eating!"

Chouji turned red, turning to his friend. He scooted over closer, his head soon overshadowing his friend's face. Shikamaru glared at him, upset that his sight of the clouds was gone, but he couldn't help but smirk at how excited Chouji looked. Chouji's lips curled into an almost-smile, his eyes stared at Shikamaru's curiously. "Wh-What did you say?"

"I told her you liked chips. I really don't see how she didn't see that. Naruto has his ramen and you have your chips. Kiba'd probably have a raw steak somewhere in his pockets, that mutt."

"Why didn't you tell her I liked yams? I really like yams."

Shikamaru just snorted. "Chouji, you'd eat anything put in front of you. Don't even deny it…" He scooted over, back to where he could see the clouds, out from under Chouji's face, and looked up at the sky, watching a cloud that looked like a giant horse head drift by. "I wonder what she'll cook you for lunch today… Don't you find it odd that she's been making you lunch almost four days in a row now? Wouldn't her dad get angry that she was using up all the food in the house or something?"

"Well, I imagine her house would be able to hold a lot of food, considering how important their clan is…"

Shikamaru laughed, his bad mood suspended. "Hey, all you have to do is marry into that clan and you'll be in heaven!"

That's when they heard it. It was soft at first, far off even, but slowly it grew louder–the soft voice of Hinata Hyuuga. "Ch-Chouji-kun! Shikamaru-kun! G-G-Good afternoon!"

She was running toward them, holding something that looked like a giant bowl with her. There was a cover on it, though they could see droplets of the contents leaking out the sides as she ran. Finally, she reached them. She put the bowl on the ground and held out a spoon.

As she did, the cover came off and some of the thick soup spilled onto Shikamaru's legs. He sat up abruptly at the heat, wincing. She gasped, "Oh–Oh no! I-I'm so sorry! Are you alright!?"

Shikamaru nodded, rubbing at his legs and hoping the infernal soup wouldn't stain. "S'alright," he mumbled, trying to convince her–and himself–that he'd be fine. "It's just a little bit hot is all…" He glanced at the bowl. "Don't mind me. Chouji can finish that off. I don't want any."

Chouji looked at it, taking a whiff. His mouth began to water as the aroma of yams filled his senses. It looked like it had chunks of some sort of meat in there, and he scooted over, taking the spoon from her. He spooned out a chunk of the meat and tasted it, delighted to find it was a pork dumpling. He slurped up some of the soup eagerly, the taste of yams and pork tingling at his tongue. It was then that he also noticed all of the rice she'd added. He looked at her, eyes watering.

"This is incredible, Hinata-chan…"

She turned red, nodding her head and smiling, taking a spot across from him, by the bowl, in the grass. "Th-Thank you…"

The more he ate, the more tears it brought to his eyes, and they started to flow freely. Finally, when he was done, he wiped at his eyes with his sleeve, being sure to wipe off his entire face. "I-It was wonderful, Hinata-chan. Really, it was absolutely delicious. Y-Yams are my favorite."

She smiled, picking up the bowl. "Th-Thank you…" She looked off, towards the grass. "I was hoping to make some for N-Naruto-kun, and I wanted to see how good it was first…"

Chouji paled, remembering how Naruto had given him a look the other day. "Y-You didn't give any to him yet, did you?"

She blushed. "N-No…this was all I made."

He nodded. "Good. He doesn't like yams. So you should probably try something else with him…"

"Oh? Thank you…Ch-Chouji-kun…" She glanced at Shikamaru, back to the bowl, anywhere but at Chouji. Finally, she stood up.

Shikamaru gave her a wicked grin, putting on his nonchalant act. "When a man is brought to tears by a woman's cooking, it's only natural for the two to get married."

Chouji nearly choked, turning bright red and feeling the air catch in his throat.

On the other hand, Hinata's face lit up like a siren, and she dropped the bowl. It shattered into pieces, but she didn't even hear it break. She made a slight squeal and a whimper, all combined into one, before she tumbled onto her back, fainting on the spot. Chouji shot Shikamaru a dirty look and went to her side, attempting to help her come to.

"Now what did you do _that_ for, Shikamaru? That…That was so un…called…" He looked back at her, his words trailing off dumbly. With cheeks flaring up again, he dropped her immediately when he realized he was holding her in his arms. He shot Shikamaru another look, but Shikamaru just snickered.

After a while, his friend looked off bitterly. "You're one of the lucky ones, Chouji…"


	6. A Yakiniku Bento and Ramen

_Wow! Chapter 6. Yeah. Why am I uploading this now? Like I said in the previous chapter: Sims 2. Apparently I wanted to make a family nice and cute and slightly normal. Of course, I made the husband have an alien baby, and then I made his wife pregnant when that kid turned into a child. Well, he became a child the day she gave birth to the little snot. Now I can't bring myself to continue that family because I'm remembering how un-fun it was dealing with little Radin (the alien baby). The babies are all so annoyingly needy and both parents have a job and the Nannies in that game suck ass! Gah! They don't even take care of the babies! They just it around reading the newspaper when the baby's in the yellow! Babies are a pain. That's why I'd never have children. Jeez, talk about a pain in the butt._

_I was reading the titles to these things, I realized it'd be fun to make them into a pattern. Therefore you get the first chapter title (Her Favorite Compliment), two Japanese dishes (Yakiniku and the Yam Noodles), Cupcake of Forgiveness in the middle, then the same pattern. (Yam Stew and Yakiniku). The last chapter will be what I had originally wanted the title of this entire story to be called--His Favorite Cook._

_Oh my, I'm listening to Blue October as I upload this, and it's brought out the Blue October fangirl in me. I strongly recommend this group to people. They're actually fairly under-rated. Much like Tea Party, who are highly under-rated. My top five favorite bands (as in the stuff I am actually willing to spend money on) go like this:  
1) _Siouxsie and the Banshees_ (They are the best. Along with Siouxsie's side project _The Creatures_. _The Creatures_ get a tie for this spot.)  
2) _Blue October_  
3)_ The Cure _(I know. I love the 80's.)  
4) _Architecture in Helsinki _ties with_ Tea Party_, because both are so under-appreciated and wonderfully different. As in, both are refreshing in a world of Linkin Park and Green Day. Ughk.  
5) _The artist-formerly-known-as-and-now-known-again-as Prince_, of course. (How can you not like Prince? Apparently very easily, since my friend doesn't like his music much. Then again, she's more obsessed with techno and Japanese stuff, like Morning Musume and Ayami-what's-her-face.)_

_:D I know none of you give a shit about what bands I like, but I couldn't help but share. Hopefully some of you will discover how great these bands (Or in Prince's case, singer) are. I wouldn't recommend _The Cure_, though, since Robert Smith's voice grates on even my nerves at times and everyone I've ever talked to about _The Cure_ ends up tossing out a "What the hell, you listen to crap" comment my way. (SAM) The best thing about _The Cure_, though, is their work on lyrics on guitar. I swear, half the stuff they do sounds improvised but in a good way.  
_

_Although I _will _recommend Fascination Street. It's probably my absolute favorite of _The Cure_'s songs. (Did I mention they toured near where I live, but I had no money and NO ONE to go with. I was a sad little girl the day I found out. So very, very sad... But I got over it. Because Robert Smith just isn't Siouxsie.) Oh! And another good band is _Say Anything_. The music's really great, though most people claim it's punk rock, and it sounds more like the mainstream punk-rock we have these days. You know, like _Good Charlotte_, JESUS. I hate them so much. (But I can make an exception for _Say Anything_, because their songs are actually GOOD.) You want to listen to punk rock, give _The Ramones_ a listen, damn it. I know a lot of college kids read Naruto fiction, but I know a lot of chil'ens read these, so they need a lesson in music history. Badly. I refuse to let the children of this generation become obsessed with watered-down CRAP that seems to be main-stream music these days. Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, people should be _ashamed _for obsessing over these people to the degree that they have and still do.  
_

_Goodness, I completely forgot what topic I was on! I started ranting about music instead..._

_ I was on the topic of my chapter titles, wasn't I? Yes, the reason this chapter is so short is for my plan for the chapter titles to work out. This also means the next chapter--the final chapter--will be short as well. I got a comment from someone who likes ShikaTen, and I admit I like it, too. But there's not enough of it. So I will be making a sequel in which Shikamaru tries desperately to woo TenTen and steal her from that evil Hyuuga boy. But it's going to be in a different format. Because Shikamaru's more of a logical thinker than a person who thinks with his emotions, like Chouji. So, it might be a bit more straight-laced. I'm working on making it interesting, though. By all accounts, I'm trying to make it more comedic than this one turned out. Yes, I wasn't lying when Shikamaru complained about getting a comedy duo in his sequel. What he doesn't realize is that he and Sasuke will be the comedy duo. Fufufuuu..._

* * *

**His Favorite Food  
**_Part Six -- "Ramen and a Yakiniku Bento"_

He was carrying her on his back, back to her house, the spoon stuffed in his hip-pouch, when Naruto came across them. He watched them pass by him before quirking a brow at his plump friend, grinning like a maniac.

"Hey, Chouji… I see you're carrying Hinata. So, about the two of you dating… _Are_ you two dating yet?"

Chouji turned red and almost dropped her, swirling around to see Naruto eye to eye. He blinked, gulping. He wanted to tug on his scarf, but his arms were busy holding onto Hinata's legs to keep her from falling to the ground. "N-No. We're not. And we never will, Naruto."

Naruto blinked, rubbing his chin. "Never? That's…shocking, actually. I thought you two made a good match. Well, either way, be sure you take care of her, okay?"

Chouji stared at him, finding himself nodding but not really wanting to. Take care of her? That wasn't his job. It should've been Naruto's. She wanted Naruto, not him. Naruto should've been taking care of her. He felt his stomach twist, something like a knot forming in the pit of his belly. He gulped, looking at her arm, which was over his shoulders, limp out in front of him. He was sick of it. He was sick of waiting for her to finally stop letting him try food in preparation for Naruto. Her cooking was amazing; she was more than ready.

If she wasn't going to take that step, he'd have to take it for her. He was doing her a favor. With him out of the picture, she'd happily pursue Naruto, or even better–date the blond.

"I will."

Naruto nodded, waving good-bye. Chouji started back down the street.

He'd take better care of her than she did.

–––––––––––––––

Hinata woke up, groggy, looking out the window. Today would be a big day. Today was the day she'd tell him how she felt. She was resolute. It was about time to take the final step.

She sat up, folding up her futon and stowing it away in the corner. Out into the hall she walked, where she passed Hanabi's room. Hanabi had told her at five o'clock the other day that a boy had dropped her off because she'd fainted. If it had been Naruto, Hanabi would've known him right off the bat–she was always talking about him to her, after all. Thus, it had to have been Chouji. Chouji was nice, that's why she had to do this.

She smiled, walking into the kitchen to whip up a dish Naruto would never forget. She opened up the fridge, grabbing the yams out of the back. There that would– She stopped, staring at them. No…that was wrong. Naruto hated yams, according to Chouji. And Chouji loved yams, according to Shikamaru. She'd flipped it again. She sighed, feeling scatter-brained.

Her cheeks flushed as she put them back into the fridge. Now why had she gotten _those_ out?

She bit her lip, remembering what Ino had said. She liked Naruto a lot…but she didn't need him to be happy with herself. She didn't need his approval, so why had she been getting Chouji to eat her meals? She'd said it was to test her cooking before she showed it to Naruto, but was that really the case?

All she'd been looking for was _his_ approval. He loved her cooking, and she loved hearing that. He'd become Naruto in her eyes, a sore replacement. But he wasn't. And it was unfair to keep treating him as such.

She stood there staring at the refrigerator door close until she thought her legs would give out beneath her. Chouji _wasn't_ Naruto, and Naruto was nice, yes, but he wasn't as _thoughtful_ as Chouji, was he? Sure, he knew the right things to say, but other than that, he tended to overlook a lot. Chouji didn't; Chouji was even more considerate. Sure, he stumbled over his words a lot and was a little self-conscious, but…that was what was charming about him…wasn't it?

––––––––––––––––

He looked up from the outskirts of the square. He purposefully placed himself near the ramen stand to be nearer to Naruto. He wouldn't have much time to get to Naruto before she tried to get the meal from him, so this was important.

He could see her running up, and she was holding the same thing she had been when she first started cooking him food. Finally, she handed him the box and the thermos, reaching around in her pockets for the pair of chopsticks. She found the pair and held it out to him.

"Ch-Chouji-kun, I…I made the same d-dish I f-first made you…a-and I wanted to t-t-t–"

He nodded, understanding what she was asking for, taking the boxes straight to Naruto. Well, this was easier than he thought. She'd been planning on giving them to Naruto this whole time. She was too busy flustering over her words to take notice of him leaving, and he found Naruto sitting where he normally sat. Iruka was arguing with the stand-owner, trying to convince him that he'd pay him back later for once and failing in that endeavor.

Naruto looked over absentmindedly, starving for some ramen, to see Chouji carrying some food. He stared at him, his eyes widened, and he went to him.

"Chouji, where'd all this food come from??"

Chouji smiled, holding it out to him. "Hinata made it. She's been trying her cooking out on me because she's wanted to impress you… She wanted me to try this dish before I gave it to you, but I know all of her cooking is amazing. You'll like it."

"Wait, Hinata likes me?" Naruto blinked, staring at the food, then burst out laughing. "I see what's going on! _You_ like her, Chouji! You're trying to set her up for disappointment so she'll bounce back to you! I've tried it on Sakura so many times! After that whole bit with the milk and Sasuke and getting Sakura to kiss me failed, I tried so many ways of making Sakura see Sasuke was a lost cause!"

Chouji paled, nearly dropping the food. "N-No, Naruto! That's n-not it at all! I really just want to help her out!"

Naruto grinned, knowing that look all too well. "Riiight, Chouji… Say, can we get this finished with? Hinata's a nice girl and all, but I really like Sakura more…"

Chouji frowned. "Naruto, Sakura's a lost cause… It's obvious she likes Sasuke more than you… And she probably always will…"

Naruto laughed. "Chouji, we're only twelve! She'll come around, alright? Everybody changes. Besides, it's time Hinata realizes _I'm_ a lost cause." He sighed, looking up thoughtfully. "Sakura's the only girl for me…"

Chouji grumbled, turning angrier. "You said so yourself people change, so why can't you at least give Hinata a chance!?"

Naruto blinked, taking the food from him. "Alright, Chouji, but it's cruel to do that, you know. If I were to do that and get her hopes up, and I ended up not changing, it'd be more painful that way, don't you think?"

Chouji clenched his fists. "It's better than living with regret, Naruto! I thought you'd know that out of all people! It's healthier if she does this!"

Naruto nodded, glancing at Chouji with slight contempt. "Of course I know that, but it's healthier if she does it herself instead of _using you as a messenger boy_, right?" He turned back to the food that was apparently meant for him. His eyes softened when he saw the contents of the thermos, a look of delighted surprise covering his face. "Ooooh, ramen!"

Chouji's jaw dropped and he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Ah, he knew where Naruto was going with this. Naruto was more observant than most people gave him credit for. "She…She didn't ask me to do this…" He kicked the ground with his foot and tugged on his scarf anxiously. What had he done? He'd taken out the most important step for her.

Naruto smiled. "So it _is_ because you're setting her up for disappointment? Because I don't know… If she'd be willing to cook me ramen the rest of my life, I _might_ just change my mind…"

There was a cry behind them, and both boys turned to see Hinata's face paler than it normally was. There was a hand over her mouth and a fist clenched tightly against her chest. In it, the chopsticks looked like they'd break from her death-grip.

Her cheeks suddenly turned pink, and she began to stutter. "Ch-Ch-Chouji-kun… Wh-What…" She sucked in a breath and the chopsticks finally snapped. The second that crack was heard, her entire demeanor changed. Her body relaxed instantly, and her eyes started to water. With tears in her eyes, she started to sob. "I…I didn't m-m-make that food f-for N-N-Naruto-kun… I m-made it for y-y-you!"

Naruto blinked, looking from Chouji back to her. "Wait, but why'd you make it for Chouji? Weren't you just practicing so that you'd cook me something? That's…that's what Chouji said…"

"I…I know… That–That w-w-was why, b-b-b-but I–" She shuddered, choking out another sob, before she turned and ran away. "I…I…need to g-go…"

In that instant, Chouji knew he'd done something that would alter whatever friendship he and Hinata had been forming forever, and it would never be the same.

–––––––––––––––––––

Shikamaru looked up at his friend, whom had walked over, looking a wreck. He whistled, turning his gaze back to the sky. "Something happened, didn't it, Chouji?"

Chouji just stared at his hands, feeling his cheeks grow warm and his eyes prickle at the onslaught of tears. "N-N-No… N-Nothing ha-happened…" He chuckled, a bit more forced than usual. "Wh-What m-makes you say…that…?"

Finally Shikamaru sat up, scooting over next to his best friend. "Chouji, if it's about Hinata–"

Chouji broke down, blubbering out his troubles. "H-Hinata… I m-made…I made her cry, Sh-Shikamaru… I d-d-didn't mean to, but…" He grabbed his face, finally feeling the tears worm their way down his cheeks. "I think I… I think I r-ru-ruined our friendship…"

Shikamaru snorted, trying to lighten the conversation. "I hardly think you two would be considered _friends_. You've only been talking to each other about a week now… Come on, Chouji… So you made her cry… The true test of friendship is whether or not you can work past that, right?"

"R-Right…but…"

"No buts, Chouji. Regardless of the situation, that fact is always true, got it? If the situation is really that terrible for it to be null and void, then it's obvious you weren't a very good friend in the first place." This just made Chouji feel even worse and he started to shake. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes at saying the wrong thing again.

"Look, Chouji…whatever you said or did to Hinata could _not_ have been that bad. You're way too considerate of other people for it to be as terrible as you're making it. Just look at Sasuke and Naruto. They fight _all_ the time, but they're still friends, right? You just had _one_ instance with Hinata, and I _know_ you're more willing to work at getting along than _those_ two idiots. So stop blaming yourself and _do_ something about it, okay?"

Chouji stopped, his eyes starting to dry up. Something stirred in him, and he looked up at Shikamaru, mouth slowly beginning to open. "D-Do something about it?"

Shikamaru smiled, patting his friend on the back. "Make this situation right, Chouji. I know you have it in you."

Chouji stood up, feeling empowered. "Yeah! You're right Shikamaru! I have it in me." He smiled, a bounce in his step again. "I'm going to go tell her how I feel!" He started to walk off, and Shikamaru smiled, nodding his head.

"Yeah, now get out there and tell her how you– Wait, _what_!?"


	7. His Favorite Cook

_Ha ha. The final part. I just thought I'd like to mention that I did some research into this, looking into Hinata and her past, her father and all that. Of course, I had to. I'd also like to rant a little bit more, though my rant this time will actually make sense with the fandom._

_Those Time-Skip outfits are barftastic. The only outfits that get better are Shikamaru's and Naruto's. (Blue and orange does not a camouflage make. Sure, orange is still bright, but at least he's not wearing opposite colours and drawing people's eyes to him in the forest. Eyes are naturally attracted to two opposite colours on the colour wheel being brought together, you see.) Not to mention Gaara's is ten times better and Temari's outfit is much less slutty. Kiba's is okay, and I love how Shino's become some kind of anorak or something, refusing to let even the most basic of skin see the light of day (His butt much be ghost white by the Time-Skip.) _

_But Ino's? Ugly as hell. Hinata's? Totally not as cute as her old outfit. And don't even get me started on Neji and TenTen. One word: _GROSS_. What's with the ugly costumes?_

_Did Kishimoto even _try_ to make the new outfits look good? Sure, he wanted to stress some parts, and Neji and Chouji are wearing their whole clan wear (with Chouji looking more like his father), but honestly–Ino's outfit looks like crap! (It's the one change I hate the most. Her old outfit, I like her in. She's cute in it. Her new outfit oozes manly slut. Something about the way he draws her in the Time Skip just seems so _manly_.) I can see where he tried to put emphasis on her hips and chest to make her appear more curvy or something, but it's _really_ ugly on her. She needs something cuter. (As you can see, I'm warming up to Ino a little bit. I tend to warm up to characters after I write about them. I still think she's the worst possible pairing for Chouji and even Shikamaru, but she's a bit more bearable in my opinion.)  
_

_Apparently, according to Kishimoto, the main female characters get sluttier while the minor female characters become even more modest. And it seems to have become popular for most of the characters to cover themselves more as they age. Just look at Shino, for crying out loud! Is he trying to get ready for a blizzard or a dust storm or something? What's with all the layers?? (I have to admit, it _does _make him even more amazing.)_

_Anyway, that's about enough of that… And now for something completely different._

_I said that Fascination Street was my favorite song by _The Cure_, but since most of you will probably skip this, I might as well mention my other favorites. All Cats Are Grey; Burn; Boys Don't Cry; Fire in Cairo; 10:15 Saturday Night; Hot, Hot, Hot!; Lullaby; The Lovecats and Why Can't I Be You._

_Forget Friday, I'm In Love; forget High. My favorite songs are, I think, a testament to Robert Smith's prowess in song-writing. All Cats Are Grey has lovely guitar work in it, and it's beautifully solemn. Lullaby is absolutely breath-taking, and every time I listen to it, I literally _see_ the imagery in the song. The imagery in that song is incredible. The Lovecats and Why Can't I Be You and Hot, Hot, Hot! are wonderfully fast-paced, regardless of whether or not their topics are morbid are not. (They're not as happy-sounding as Friday, I'm In Love or High, but they're pretty close, in my opinion.) I first fell in love with All Cats Are Grey after watching that one Kirsten Dunst movie, Marie Antoinette. I really like the movie, despite the fact that there're so many oddities in it--like the fact that Kirsten Dunst and the guy that plays her husband have no accents, despite the fact that they are royalty and even the peasants in the movie have accents! But I do recommend it to anyone who likes older things. (They have lots of New Wave music in the soundtrack; it's great.)  
_

_And back to the most important topic of conversation: A semi-sneak-peek at Shikamaru's sequel. In the sequel, he enlists the help of a few people, like Sasuke and Ino. _

_Sasuke, thinking Shikamaru's going to set him up with Temari–one of the only girls left that isn't completely crazy about him–decides to help Shikamaru by helping make TenTen jealous. He copies Naruto's Sexy no Jutsu and walks around like a girl for a while. Shikamaru also enlists the help of Ino's father's flower shop, and orders one hundred roses for TenTen. At one point, he even decides to try spying on Team Gai after Shino suggests he needs to get ahead of the competition by observation. Chouji suggests getting TenTen some food, and Shikamaru makes a dish all by himself. _

_And that's as much as I'm giving you lot. (I don't want to spoil it.) It's going to be set up as a list of Ten different ways to woo TenTen, with two things in each chapter, to make them less short. I hope that's satisfactory to everyone. It's going to take me a while, because I really want to get the characters right. (Some of those ideas might change, since I haven't technically started writing it yet. But you can bet your bums I'm getting started on it right after I upload this.)  
_

_I also want to make it more humorous, like one of those infernal fillers, but if I fail at being funny, feel free to tell me so. Send me a review saying, "Stop uploading this crap, you idiot! You're not funny and your sense of humor is disgusting and trashy and all sorts of bland!" You know…something nice and witty like that._

_I'd also like to mention that I am actually pleased with how adorably fluffy this turned out. Usually it makes me gag and I am highly uncomfortable reading and writing stuff like this, but I think I'm fine with this. I kinda like it. Of course, I'm more partial to unspoken confessions, but this is nice… Probably because I don't come right out and say stuff like, "I wuv you, baby, let's get maywied and have wots of chubby, dark-haired babies" and crap like that. Talk about gross. Marriage is another thing I find highly uncomfortable to read. It's just…too sappy. I mean, talk about GROSS. I want to read the fanfic, not get stuck in its sticky sappiness._

_(Although I have a sinking feeling that's exactly what I've done here…)_

_A quick note: the chapter starts with Shikamaru on the same day as the last chapter, and ends on the same day. In the middle of the chapter I went to the next day, but at the end, when I mention Shikamaru trying to find TenTen while Chouji finds Hinata, it's the same day as the beginning of the chapter--the day before. If that makes sense. It probably doesn't, so just ignore it. I'll make it clearer in the conversation between TenTen and Shikamaru in his sequel._

* * *

**His Favorite Food  
**_Part Seven – "His Favorite Cook"_

Shikamaru shot up, going straight to his friend. "Ch-Chouji! What are you thinking? You can't just do that! That's…that's just crazy…"

Chouji sighed, his shoulders falling. "I know, Shikamaru, but…I wouldn't want to live with regret. Don't you agree? Even if Hinata doesn't like me, at least I'd told her. At least I wouldn't be looking back on it and wishing I had for the rest of my life… I'm sure you're the same way, Shikamaru. I'm sure you're just worried TenTen won't like you, and chances are she won't judging by the way she acts around you…but at least you'd have tried, right?"

Shikamaru watched him walking off and chuckled to himself, rubbing the back of his head and kicking the ground with his foot, staring at the grass. After a while, he chuckled again, less forced this time, and looked up at the sky. "And I thought I was more mature than you, Chouji…" He looked back at the grass, shaking his head. "You're right. Judging by the way she acts around me, she probably hates me… I could never…" He laughed. "I could never just _walk right up to her_ and _tell _her I liked her…"

–––––––––––––––––

He spent the rest of the day looking for her, and came up unsuccessful. What did he have to do to find a girl? He even dropped by her _house_ and looked, but she was nowhere to be found! What was to be done?

He sighed, deciding to try again tomorrow. And he would, and when he did, he'd return her the favor and tell her how he felt.

–––––––––––––––

The next day, he woke up bright and early and went to the kitchen, finding his mother cooking something for breakfast. He looked at her timidly, knowing she'd wonder why he was attempting something so ridiculous, but he figured if anyone would support him, it would be his family.

"M-Mom…" He started, looking at her with meek interest. When she spun around to talk to him, he turned quite pink, fidgeting. "I was…wondering… Um…could…I…borrow the kitchen for a bit?"

She blinked, wiping her hands on a towel and walking over to him. She was a nice woman, with a big heart and big eyes, her voice light and breathy. "Chouji, why do you want to use the kitchen? This isn't like you at all…" She laughed. "Usually you're asking me when it'll be time to eat, not to cook it yourself…"

Chouji swallowed, pumping himself up. "M-Mom…I want to cook something…f-for…a girl."

His mother stared at him for a while, taking in his expression and processing it as serious. Her face brightened considerably, and she smiled, standing up straighter. "A _girl_?? Who is she, Chouji? She must be really nice… Oh, I'm sure she's just adorable, too!"

"It's…H-Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga."

His mother's face fell and she turned back to the kitchen, back to the breakfast cooking and the stew she was making to be ready by lunch time. "A _Hyuuga_? Chouji, are you sure? The Hyuuga have always been a bit…hmmm…iffy…" She turned back to him, looking hopeful. "Tell me…Hinata's not part of the main branch…is she?"

Chouji blinked, thinking back on it. He couldn't really remember… Was she? If she was, what would that mean again? He knew Neji wasn't, and Neji was her cousin… He blinked, stuttering. "Sh-She might be… Neji is her cousin…"

Her face fell again, and she went to the counter, getting started on a few rice balls. "Well, Chouji… You know, if she's part of the main branch, I doubt…" She sighed, turning back to him. "Chouji, dear, the Hyuuga family is very prestigious. I don't think… Well, for _us_ to try and…" She sighed again, sounding more like a groan and an attempt to find the right words to explain it to her son. "…Er, with one of the Akimichi clan taking interest in a _Hyuuga_…"

Chouji smiled sadly, curling his toes into the flooring anxiously. "Oh. It's a clan thing, huh…" He sighed, his determination kicking in. He looked at her, frowning. "I don't care, Mom. I really like her, and I want to make her something to repay her for the all the lunches she's been making me."

His mother turned around, her expression brightening considerably. "Oh! _She's_ the one that's been making you lunches? She's the reason you haven't been coming home and eating lunch with your father and I? She's the one that likes cooking you yams and the like, right? I suppose she guessed you liked sweeter foods…" She laughed. "Oh, that's wonderful, Chouji… I'm glad to see you've found someone as giving as her…"

"B-But the whole clan issue?"

His mother thought about it, stewing it over, humming to herself. "Well, it all boils down to whether or not she's the older sister or not. Is she the older sister?"

He nodded his head. "Yes, she is. I met her younger sister the other day…"

A sad smile made its way to his mother's lips. "I…don't think Hiashi-san would enjoy the thought of the heiress to the Hyuuga clan being involved with one of the Akimichi clan… We're not so well-respected…"

Chouji's cheeks went red. "Mom…you make it sound like we're already getting _married_… Can't I just make her something already??"

His mother turned around, giving him a soft smile, her voice softening. "That's right…I'm sorry. It's not your job as a child to worry about things like social classes… I'm afraid I got caught up in my duties as a parent and brought you into it." She laughed, motioning for him to come to her side. "Now then, why don't we get started on making her something. What were you thinking about making her? I must say, it's rather unorthodox for a boy to make _a girl_ something to eat…" She turned pink, giggling, remembering her younger days. "You're just as kind as your father, Chouji…"

He blushed, trying to come up with something. He found he couldn't and looked up at his mother. "Mom, what do girls like eating?"

She laughed, making a rice ball idly. "Girls like the same things boys do, Chouji. But, I _can_ say you can never go wrong with sweets…" She looked at him. "Don't you agree? You like getting sweets from pretty girls, don't you, Chouji?"

Chouji chuckled, his face turning a deeper shade of red. "I…don't get many girls giving me sweets… I'm not exactly a cute boy…"

"Nonsense! You're as cute as a button!"

"M-_Mom_…" His cheeks turned red as he heard his father laugh behind him. How long had he been listening, anyway?

"Don't worry, Chouji… Papa will work things out with Hiashi-san if it comes to that…"

Chouji groaned. He'd heard _everything_!

–––––––––––––

He'd been looking for her everywhere, but he happened to run into her by accident…and quite literally, too. He was walking through a crowd of people, looking around for her, when he got to the edge and knocked into someone who wasn't watching where they were going. The person he bumped into fell onto the ground with a squeak, and he stuttered, bending down and grabbing their hand.

"I'm…I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, I should've been–"

"N-No, no! Forgive _me_! I was the one not l-looking–"

They both looked at each other, turning bright red. Hinata stuttered, standing, and Chouji released her hand, feeling insecure all of a sudden.

"I'm s-sorry, Chouji-kun… I didn't see you…"

He smiled, scratching his face and mumbling. "N-No…I'm sorry. I'm afraid I'm too big and I knocked you down…"

She turned red, flustered. "Y-You're fine the way you are, Chouji-kun!"

He looked at her, eyes wide. "…Wh-_What_?"

She grew quiet, giggling nervously. "Heh heh, s-sorry. I…"

Chouji grabbed her hand, ignoring the fluttering in his chest and how warm her hand was. "C-Come with me! I…I wanted to th-thank you for all you've done! I'm sorry for the other day! I thought you wanted me to give it to Naruto!"

She trailed after him, until finally they were sitting on the same bench as before, when he'd been upset after what Ino had said a week earlier. He fidgeted in his seat, finally handing her the small bag of cookies. "I…I made you these."

She smiled, accepting them. "Oh…Oh…th-thank you… Thank you so much… You didn't have to do this…"

"But I wanted to." He rubbed the back of his head, fidgeting some more. "L-Listen…I know I'm not the prettiest boy…and I know I'm nowhere near as great as Naruto-kun, but I… I wanted to tell you anyway… I–"

She interrupted him, blurting out her thoughts. "I know you're not Naruto-kun, and I'm sorry! I…I wanted you to try my cooking and when you said you liked it, I…I don't know… I guess I just…I wanted to keep hearing it…" She gasped, covering her mouth. "I'm sorry… I interrupted you, didn't I…? I'll let you finish!"

He turned red, his mind suddenly going blank. "Uh…you… You…uh…um…" He stared at her, flustered, watching the way her hair blew into her face when a breeze went by, noticed the way she twiddled her thumbs nervously. He smiled sheepishly, finally blustering out a decent train of thought. "You…were trying to make me into N-Naruto…?"

She nodded, her cheeks turning even darker. "Y-yes…"

He stared at her, still smiling, but inside he was cursing the heavens. Wh-What? What did that mean? She didn't think he was good enough? She liked him? She wanted to like him, wanted to pretend he was Naruto? She was indulging herself by making him into Naruto?? What did she mean by that??

She noticed something in his eyes and elaborated. "I…I liked you saying how much you liked my c-cooking…and I wanted to keep hearing it…"

His expression took on a more puzzled look, and he looked at her queerly. "I…don't understand what you mean…"

She took a deep breath, looking like she was about to hyperventilate. "I…like…Naruto-kun…but you're not Naruto-kun. Y-You're different…"

He nodded, smiling sadly. "Oh…I see what you mean now…"

"B-But I think…I think it's good that you're different. I…I like how y-you're different than Naruto-kun…"

He looked back at her, his entire body going numb. He felt his fingers tingle, felt something bubble up in his chest, felt something icy work its way up his spine. "Wh-What?" He felt that, through a vision of blackness, he could see a little pinhole of light, of hope. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

She buried her face in her hands, feeling silly suddenly. She couldn't do this! It was a confession, and she had no experience with this sort of thing! She was too nervous. "I…I can't do this!" Her face flushed deeper and the warmer it got, the more uncontrollable the urge to book it became.

"H-Hinata-chan…are you…saying you…like _me_ and you…l-like me the way I am…?"

She made a squeak and stood instantly, shuffling her feet quickly to get away. She couldn't do this, she just couldn't do it! Maybe at some later time, but it was too soon after that traumatizing incident the other day. A firm grip on her arm shot her out of her fear, and she realized she wasn't going anywhere. She looked over to see Chouji staring at her, something intense in his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared directly into those eyes, feeling weak.

"H-Hinata, I like you, too… I…I know I'm not Naruto, so I'm probably not as great or anything, but…but I'm hoping you'd…" He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, growing uncomfortable. "The other day I messed up big time, but I was hoping you could give me a second chance to show you I'm worth it… P-Please let me prove I can be just as great as Naruto…"

Her face went beet red, and she started to tremble. "C-C-C-Can I st-still… I can still make you food, right? I…I like cooking…"

He looked ecstatic, unable to believe his ears. She's agreed! "Sure! Just as long as you eat lunch with me tomorrow!" He turned red, laughing a little. "M-My mom wanted to meet you…"

She started stuttering. "W-W-Well, it…it's not like…we're getting m-married or anything…" She looked off to the side, feeling faint. "I can…I can do that…"

"Do what?" He blinked, unsure what she was talking about.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stutter the words out. "M-M-M-M-Meet your mother!" She flustered, covering her face in her hands. "I…I wasn't talking about m-m-m-ma…marriage…"

"C-Can I kiss you?"

She turned red. "Wh-What!?" She swooned, her hands rising to her shoulders, almost as if she were about to pass out, but that never happened. Instead, she placed her hands back over her eyes and cheeks, trying to hide her face. "Y-Yes…"

He leaned over, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before immediately shooting himself back at least two feet away from her, his cheeks turning a nice rosy colour. He smiled a little, kicking at the dirt at his feet. Hinata uncovered her eyes, taking a breath.

"W-We kissed?"

Chouji's smile grew. "I…I think so…"

Before he could say anything else, she fainted. Chouji smiled, picking her up and putting her back onto the bench. He sat down next to her, waiting for her to come to. After all, he wanted to see how much she liked the cookies he made for her… Shikamaru would want to hear about this; he knew it.

Little did he know, Shikamaru was beginning to have troubles of his own…

–––––––––––––––

Shikamaru finally sighed after watching his friend walk off. He'd lain back down for a while, but what Chouji had said kept festering in his brain.

"_I wouldn't want to live with regret… Even if Hinata doesn't like me, at least I'd have told her… At least I wouldn't be looking back on it and wishing I had for the rest of my life…"_

He grumbled, turning over, unable to relax. He knew that, but he wasn't like Chouji in that aspect. He couldn't just waltz up to a girl and tell her how he felt. Things like that… Things like that were troublesome to him. They required more work on his behalf. He had to make sure how she felt, he had to make sure he wouldn't get hurt by it. He had the need to protect himself and the close friends he had; Chouji had the need to protect everyone else over himself. Chouji was fine with being himself; he had to be perfect.

He couldn't just go about this without a plan; he couldn't just go about it without knowing how it would turn out, without it working out in his favor.

He had to think of this situation logically, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized he had to ask her a few questions first before deciding what to do…

If he looked at it strategically, there was really only so many possible ways for her to react to him, so many possible outcomes to the different ways he could approach this. He figured he'd have ten chances to get her to like him. If none of those ways worked, it was a lost cause.

That was the only way he could look at this. If he looked at it any other way, he'd wind up overlooking too much.

But first, he'd need to go find TenTen. As he searched, he passed by Chouji searching for Hinata countless times. Well, that was that. He could wish Chouji luck, but that was about it. That's when he saw her standing by herself next to a tree, looking like she was organizing her scrolls.

He thought calmly about what he'd say to her, then approached.

"Hey, TenTen…"


End file.
